


Fate's Just a suggestion

by BahamutDivided



Category: Persona 5, Persona 5 Royal, Persona Series
Genre: Akechi Goro Attends Shujin Academy, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Cafe Leblanc (Persona 5), F/M, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Mementos (Persona 5), Metaverse (Persona 5), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Third Person, Persona 5 Royal Storyline, Persona 5 Spoilers, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, eventually, persona 5 male MC - Akira Kurusu, relationships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-27
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-16 02:09:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 20,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28948707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BahamutDivided/pseuds/BahamutDivided
Summary: The silence was poison to his ears, how long had he been laying there now.Akira Kurusu manages to defeat the god of mementos Yaldabaoth. But at a cost too much to bear.Alone he stood above a destroyed world, mementos, fused with the world below him, killing all who used to live there, his teammates who became more a family to him than anyone else, murdered in front of him by the same 'god' who once stood in front of him.Fate threw him into a game with no chance of winning, yet still, he did.Lavenza and Igor, now returned to his former strength, gives him the chance to change fate once more, a chance for happiness and he jumps at the chance.A chance to see his family again, a chance to SAVE them. Of course he'd take it, after all, fates always been a suggestion to the phantom thieves
Relationships: Akechi Goro/Niijima Makoto, Kurusu Akira/Yoshizawa Sumire | Yoshizawa Kasumi, Other Relationship Tags to Be Added, Persona 5 Protagonist/Yoshizawa Sumire | Yoshizawa Kasumi, Sakamoto Ryuji/Takamaki Ann
Comments: 5
Kudos: 39





	1. Losing It All

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, and welcome to my story.
> 
> This is the first story I am writing on this website, I hope it turns out ok.
> 
> Not too much to say;
> 
> So it's out there, I want to say that I don't own any of the characters that appear in this story and all rights for them go their respected owners.
> 
> I only own the story line for this story.
> 
> Now that that's out the way. Thank you for checking out this story and I hope you enjoy it.
> 
> Happy Reading.

The silence felt like poison to his ears. Each gust of wind, daggers into his skin.

Barely 5 minutes had past but to Akira, it felt like hours. The scene playing over and over again in his head.

* * *

out of breath, the phantom thieves stared up at the massive being known as Yaldabaoth.

'This fights been going on for WAY to long!' Ryuji shouted.

'I don't know how long we can keep this up you guys!' Ann added just as loudly.

'hey everyone, I know we're exhausted but this guy's doing something. Keep your guard up!' Futaba shouted from her persona, Prometheus.

'Roger!' everyone else shouted back, shaking their heads, and focusing on the enemy in front of them.

The god of mementos simple stared down at them.

**THIS BOTHERSOME RESISTANCE HAS GONE ON LONG ENOUGH. ALLOW ME TO SQUASH IT.**

The sound of Yaldabaoth's voice, echoing around them as he started to raise the massive hands at his sides.

'watch out, here it comes!' Futaba shouted.

the rest of the phantom thieves braced themselves, ready to take on the next attack.

'Wait a minute, somethings different, where's he aim-' Futaba said in confusion.

the phantom thieves turned to look at her just in time to see a huge lightning attack strike her persona, and in an instant, it exploded.

In that instant, Akira felt a part of him being ripped away.

Ongyo-ki, the ultimate persona of the hermit arcana, crying out in anger and pain.

'FUTABA!' he screamed.

'YOU!' Ryuji screamed through gritted teeth, flipping around towards Yaldabaoth.

'YOU BASTARD!' summoning Seiten Taisei and charging at Yaldabaoth. All sense of reason leaving him in an explosion of rage.

everyone else immediately turning around to see Yaldabaoth effortlessly strike down Ryuji before he had the chance to attack.

Akira, yet again felt another part of him ripped away as he saw Ryuji's lifeless body fall the ground as his persona faded away.

Chi You, the ultimate persona of the chariot arcana rushing to the surface of his mind, screaming out in anguish.

He couldn't move, frozen in the pain of losing two of his closest friends, his family, right in front of him.

Falling to his knees, he could only watch as those around him lost themselves to their anger, charging at Yaldabaoth with everything they had left, only to fall one after the other.

with every one the god of control killed, another part of Akira was ripped apart.

Ongyo-Ki,

Chi You,

Ishtar,

Odin,

Cybele,

Mother Harlot,

Futsunushi.

The ultimate personas of the bonds he had made with his team, all at the front of his mind screaming out in anguish.

This enemy had killed those closest to him, his teammates, his family.

And there was nothing he could do.

* * *

Akira remained on his knees, not knowing what he wanted, not knowing what to do, Feeling the anguish of his personas. A million thoughts running through his head, not one of them making any sense.

**I HAVE LONG EXPECTED YOU WOULD ATTACK ME AS WELL**

The voice of Yaldabaoth echoing around him, snapping him back into the moment.

'Oh right...He's still here' Akira thought to himself.

**YOU HAVE LOST, YOU. ARE. ALONE.**

Yaldabaoth voice continuing to echo.

'Then finish me, You don't have anything else to take from me' Akira said, no tone in his voice.

**Finish You? Why would you want him to do that?**

Akira heard a voice deep in his soul speak up amongst the screams.

His eyes widened at the new voice. Looking around him, it was if time itself had stopped.

**You have lost all you held dear, this much is true. But why should that mean you must die too.**

Akira's mouth opened slightly to respond but nothing came out.

**This fake god believes to be above you, how could anything be any further from the truth.**

**And your teammates, you promised each other you would save this world from the clutches of this pretender.**

**They may be gone but does that make the promises you made any less real? the moments you shared, the bonds you created.**

Akira still lay there on his knees, mouth still slightly open.

'Never...I will NEVER break a promise I made to them' he answered, a tiny amount of flare returning to his voice, a small amount of light returning to his eyes.

'But...Tell me, how. How can I keep that promise? How can I make him pay' Akira asked.

**How?**

**Shouldn't it be obvious, I am a part of you Akira, I have always been a part of you.**

**My power is yours; you need but ask.**

**Call my name and show this hopeless pretender your true strength!**

* * *

**VERY WELL 'TRICKSTER'. IT IS TIME YOU DISAPPEAR.  
**

Yaldabaoth’s voice, once again echoing around him.

He began to create a massive orb of black energy in front of him.

Akira was still on his knees, looking down at the ground, but he had a fire in his eyes, and anger in his heart.

The personas inside him fell silent, for the fire in their user was there once more, one more time.

**FAREWELL!**

Yaldabaoth shouted as a massive wave began to engulf the platform Akira was on, washing away the bodies of his teammates.

The wave of energy got closer and closer to Akira, until.

'Satanael' Akira spoke under his breath and then the black wave engulfed him.

A second later, where Akira was, a bright light appeared, engulfing the area, and burning away the black wave.

**WHAT!**

Yaldabaoth echoed.

There, stood Akira, looking straight at Yaldabaoth, a relit fire in his eyes.

**HOW DO YOU STILL STAND!?**

Akira continued to simply stare at him.

A thundering in the sky caused to Yaldabaoth to look up.

**HMM?**

from darkened clouds descended a massive persona, the same size as Yaldabaoth.

Satanael.

descending behind Akira, Satanael stretched its arms to its sides.

**W-WHAT IS THIS POWER  
**

Akira reached to his coat, grabbing his gun, and pointing it towards Yaldabaoth.

Before he knew it, Yaldabaoth noticed that Satanael had done the same, the barrel from his weapon level with his head.

'Payback' Akira finally said.

' **Begone'** The voices of Satanael and Akira speaking in unison.

 **YOU DARE** Yaldabaoth screamed. But it was too late.

The sound of bullets firing echoed in the empty air and it was over. A Huge hole piercing through Yaldabaoth's head, knocking him back.

**SUCH...POWER**

**STRONGER THAN EVEN THE GOD OF CONTROL**

**DAMN YOU TRICKSTER, TO THINK...YOU'D WIN THIS GAME**

And with those last words, Yaldabaoth faded away in yellow light.

Akira fell to his knees once more as Satanael disappeared from behind him and back into the depths of his soul.

'It's...Over' Akira said in a defeated tone.

'We won...We won everyone...It's...Over'

'haha....haha'

Finally starting to feel the tears running down his face, he stopped trying to stop them.

He started to scream into the empty air, he really was alone now, wasn't he.

Stopping to catch his breath, he heard someone.

'My Trickster' Came a calm and low voice.

Akira shot his head up looking for where the voice came from.

Not far from where he was, lay a far too familiar blue door, and standing next to the open door was Lavenza, the attendant of the velvet room.

'Lavenza' Akira questioned in a choked voice.

using his sleeve to wipe his face he rushed over to her on instinct.

'Ryuji, Ann, Yusuke, Makoto, Haru, Futaba, Morgana. They're...' he said in an almost pleading tone, hoping for something, anything.

Lavenza simple looked down with sadness showing on her face before quickly looking back up at him.

'My master has asked to meet you once more' She asked, in her same calm tone.

Taken aback, Akira looked at the open blue door before looking at the ground for a moment and then back at Lavenza.

'Ok' he answered with a weak nod.

He took one more look behind him at the platform and all the clouds surrounding it before walking through the blue door, Lavenza bowed to the emptiness as if to say goodbye to the world itself before following Akira through the door, the gate like door closing behind them.

* * *

Opening his eyes, Akira found himself in the velvet room, still in his phantom thief attire. Igor sat behind his desk in front of him. Lavenza stood next to the desk holding the same book she always held.

Akira stood there, struggling to stand up straight with misty eyes looking distant, waiting for one of the velvet room residents to speak.

'Trickster, I would like to start by congratulating you. You have defeated the god of control and brought your world back from ruin' Igor started.

'Don't congratulate me, I don't deserve it. I lost, I...Lost' Akira quickly responded, his voice cracking.

'That's not true, you were thrown into a game you had no control over, you were fated to lose, your world was fated to fall into ruin. But you still won. I know it must feel hollow, but you achieved the impossible. You are a true trickster' Lavenza said, taking a step towards Akira.

'But that's just it' Akira replied raising his voice suddenly. 'I...I was too late and...'

Looking down again he took a quick breath.

'There's no way they can come back is there...?' Akira asked. His voice, low again.

Lavenza and Igor both fell silent.

'I'm afraid that is true, they have returned to the sea of souls, even with my full strength returned, there is no way to bring them back' Igor explained.

Akira felt his heart break all over again.

'although, it may not be the last time you can meet them' Igor added.

Akira eyes widening, his head shot up, a bit of hope returning to his eyes.

'I...I can see them again' Akira said, his voice displaying the small hope he held.

'Yes-' Lavenza started before being cut off.

'That is ok Lavenza, I will explain' Igor interjected. Lavenza nodded in response.

'The Velvet room is a space between dream and reality, mind and matter. And so, is connect to many different worlds, many different universes' Igor explained.

'You see there are, as to say, other realities of your world, ones that have yet to reach ruin, ones that are not fated to fall, ones that do not have a true trickster such as yourself to help guide them' Igor continued.

'And you could send me to one of these' Akira questioned.

'Correct' Igor answered simply.

Akira caught his breath at the answer. Taking a moment to think.

'So, my friends, my family. They would be in these other realities. They...Wouldn't be the phantom thieves I brought together' Akira said.

'There are realities that are as you suggest, where the people you formed bonds with are nothing like the ones you met in your world, but while that is true, there are others where they are the same as the ones you met in your world' Igor explained.

'The phantom thieves of your world have fallen, however, there are realities where they have yet to come together, realities where you can meet them again and change their fate' Igor continued.

Akira was looking at the ground, but his eyes widened at Igor's remark. His thoughts going back to just before his team left the velvet room to take on Yaldabaoth. The determination they held, the trust they shared to put their lives in each other's hands, they all stared fate in the face and spat in it. Not one of them regretted the decisions they made, and he knew it.

Deep in his soul, he knew, he knew this is what he had to do, knowing he could see them again, save them. And do nothing would be to let fate win, it would mean to go against so much that they fought for.

Looking at up at Igor and Lavenza again, one moment in particular played in his mind, just before they fought Yaldabaoth, when they had their last discussion. Futaba had told everyone.

* * *

'Hey, I know this'll sound weird but if any of us kick the bucket in this fight. Let's promise we'll find each other again, no matter what' She said in a determined voice as she turned her hands into fists in front of her.

'Wow Futaba, way to depress everyone before our big fight, but I'll be damned if I don't agree to it' Ryuji replied with a laugh.

'You guys are best damn partners I could ask for, so we better meet again'

Ryuji extended his fist in front of him, in front of everyone. 'Promise!?' He shouted with enthusiasm.

Everyone else shook their heads but somehow had big smiles as well, what could they say, his was a little contagious.

'Promise!' they all shouted as they all knocked their fists together in the middle of the group, morgana jumping to reach everyone else's.

* * *

'It seems you've made a decision Trickster' Igor said, his smile growing slightly.

'I'll go' He said, determination leaking back into his tone.

'To not go would be to break the promise I made to them. And I refuse to break a promise we made'

Igor's smile grew even more.

'I couldn't have said it better' Lavenza replied, a smile appearing on her face, that look in her trickster's eyes. She hoped It would never fade again.

'Indeed' Igor added.

'Though, I need to ask, in this new world, will I ever see you two again?' Akira asked, emphasizing the 'you two'.

'My. I didn't know you'd care for us this much' Igor answered almost smugly.

'Wait, did he just joke' Akira thought to himself.

'Master!' Lavenza shouted turning to Igor, 'So rude' stomping her foot, surprising both Akira and Igor.

'My apologise Lavenza. To answer your question trickster, you need not worry, while you will reside in a new reality, you will always be connect to our velvet room, should you have need of us, you need but look' Igor explained, nodding his head slightly.

'That's good to know' Akira replied letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

'Now. I must explain a few things regarding the new world we shall send you to' Igor began, his tone becoming more serious, which Akira noticed straight away, straightening up.

'The one we will send you to will be very similar to this one, though there will be a few changes, the biggest being there will be another trickster in this world' Igor explained.

Akira's eyes widened.

'something you must understand is the god of control can only be defeated by a true trickster, a trickster who has awakened to their ultimate persona, per se.' Igor continued.

Akira placed his hand on his chest, feeling the presence of Satanael still inside him.

'This is why you will have the power to change the fate of the phantom thieves'

'Do you happen to know who the trickster of this world is, so I know who to look out for?' Akira asked.

A grin appeared on Igor's face. 'I do, though you must allow me to surprise you a few more times dear trickster, but don't worry, you'll know'

'R-Right' Akira replied a confused expression appearing on his face.

'Now, you need not worry about living arrangements and other issues such as accessing school to meet your teammates again, such simple matters are as you could say, a flick of the wrist for me' Igor continued.

'Really, that's...pretty amazing' Akira replied, his eyes widening once again.

Lavenza, who was now stood close to Akira, rolled her eyes at her master's attempts at showing off.

'On the matter of your persona, weapon, items, and money, those we can send with you, and of course if you require any assistance with your persona you can come here' Igor continued.

'And ah yes, before I forget' He added before raising his arm and snapping his finger.

A sudden notification came from Akira's phone, surprising him. He quickly took it out to see it was a notification about the MetaNav app.

'The god of control from the world we are sending you to is unlikely to give you a means of entering and traversing the metaverse, this will suffice for all your metaverse needs' Igor explained.

A nod from Akira confirmed he understood as he put his phone back in his pocket.

'I do believe that is all the important information you require, I'm sure you'll pick up everything else within no time' Igor finished.

'Thank you. Both of you, I'm not sure how I'll ever be able to pay you back' Akira said, a small smile appearing on his face.

'Pay us back? Trickster, this is us paying you back. You released me from my prison and freed this world from ruin' Igor responded, his tone, a little surprised.

'Good luck, my trickster. We will always be here if you need us. Live well' Lavenza added, a smile on her face.

'Thank you' Akira replied.

A snap of the finger from Igor and Akira became engulfed in a blue light. A second past and then he was gone.

'He has endured much...Far too much for a boy so kind' Lavenza said in a saddened tone.

'Indeed, he puts on a strong mask now, but I know he is still close to falling. I only hope the assistance we can provide him will be enough' Igor added.

* * *

**End of Chapter 1**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, and thank you for reading this chapter. What did you think. I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments.
> 
> If you enjoyed this chapter I hope you can leave a like/kudo and a comment to let me know your thoughts.
> 
> Thank you again for reading this chapter and I look forward to seeing you in the next one.


	2. A Familiar Smell

Eye's snapping open, Akira found himself in a new room, back in his usual jeans and shirt, lying down on a bed.

Quickly sitting up, he looked around to see a rather spacious room. a work desk at one side of the room. A drawer and a wardrobe laid against the wall.

Looking closer to him, he found a bedside table with his phone and a piece of paper on top.

Quickly grabbing the paper, he looked at what was written on it.

* * *

**Trickster, I'm sure you must feel a little confused with your new location.**

**I believed sending a note along with you to explain would be helpful.**

**I should start by telling you where you are, you are currently inside a house I managed to obtain for your use, you need not worry about any complications with it. For all intended purposes, this house was left to you by your late parents.**

**I do believe everything inside should be to your needs.**

**You will also find all of your belongings inside the room you awake in.**

**And ah yes, the trickster of that reality will be showing up on the 9th and will appear at Café Leblanc. You may want to make your way there to meet them.**

**Good luck on your journey Trickster.**

* * *

'The ninth?' Akira thought to himself, his mind still processing what had happened.

'Then that means' he added as his mind caught up, his eyes widening.

dropping the paper, and letting it fall to the floor, he quickly picked up his phone, checking the date.

8th of April

'The eighth, this is...Just before I arrived...' Akira said in a hushed voice. Leaning back on the bed.

His mind rushed back to the fight with Yaldabaoth, his teammates, lying in front of him.

Clenching his fists he shook his head.

'Not this time. Never again. This time I will save them. Just you try and stop me fate' He said.

Standing up and putting his phone in his pocket, he moved around the room, set to explore his new home.

As he explored the room, he found an envelope on the desk.

Opening and unfolding the paper inside he was surprised to see the shujin academy emblem at the top of the page. He quickly began to read it.

* * *

**Dear Akira Kurusu.**

**We would first like to thank you for applying to join us at Shujin Academy.**

**We are happy to inform you that your application has been approved.**

**This letter is to inform you that your first day with us will be the 11th of April.**

**On your first day, you will be required to go to the faculty office to meet one of our staff members who will take you to your class.**

**We ask that you bring this letter with you on your first day to show to the staff.**

**We look forward to meeting you.**

**Yours Faithfully,**

**Principal Kobayakawa.**

* * *

A surprised Akira looked at the letter for a few seconds after he finished reading.

'Igor definitely meant it when he said I wouldn't need to worry about this stuff' Akira said to himself.

'This gives me a good start. The rest is up to me'

As he continued to search the room, looking in the drawer and wardrobe he found all the clothes he previously owned, as well as his shujin uniform. He also found a box under the bed containing all the items, money, and weapons he had obtained through the Metaverse.

Giving the weapons a knock with his hand. 'Fake, of course. For now' he said to no-one.

He took his phone from his pocket, unlocking it and finding the MetaNav, opening it and checking to bookmarked section, he found all the Palaces he had beaten listed as well as Mementos, ready to be entered at the push of a finger.

'No doubt another helping hand from Igor' he thought. putting the phone back in his pocket and the box back under the bed.

Having finished looking around the room, he went on the explore the rest of his new home.

Leaving the room. He found himself in the living room, a couch and two chairs on the side closest to him. A TV stand with a TV stood on top on the other, with a coffee table separating them in the middle of the room.

At both ends of the room were archways, with the far end of the room leading into a kitchen, the other to a hallway leading to the front door.

'huh' Akira said, surprised, as he looked at everything.

looking through the kitchen to see what was there, he finished his search of the house.

Going to grab his coat and bag, he then headed for the front door.

Finding a pair of keys next to the door, he quickly put on his shoes and headed outside before locking the door behind him, feeling the light from the sun on his back.

looking out onto the street in front of him, a sense of similarity washed over him as he saw the small groups of people walking past in idle conversation, some giving him a glance of acknowledgement before moving on with their day.

'Wait, this street is...' Akira thought to himself. 'This is close to Yongen-jaya station, and only a few streets away from Leblanc'

'convenient' he said under his breath.

'Now then. Time for a visit to Shibuya' he finished, adjusting his bag on his shoulder, and heading towards Yongen-jaya station.

The train to Shibuya was as busy as Akira expected. Everyone squashed into the train cars like sardines. He'd be lying if he said he didn't feel weird, having so many people close to him after seeing all of mankind killed by Yaldabaoth.

Once he reached Shibuya, he made his way to the central street, looking around on his way.

However, just before reaching the end of station square, a feeling of dread took over him, freezing him in place. Maybe it was the familiar place, he didn't know, but his mind was bringing up memories he'd rather have kept buried deep down.

As he looked around, everything started to change, the bone structures of mementos appearing around him, the blood-red rain falling from the sky, the massive structure in the distance where Yaldabaoth once was.

His breathing became more erratic. Clenching his hands, he tried to force the scene away. 'It's not real, I won't let it happen this time. Snap out of it!' he yelled to himself.

'Hey, a-are you ok?' came a sudden voice, nervous yet calm at the same time.

Snapping out of the memory, Akira started blinking quickly as he started to bring his breathing back under control.

Looking to where the voice had come from, he saw a girl with deep red hair and eyes. She was wearing a light beige fleece jacket with a white shirt under it, a skirt, and red shoes, her head slightly tilted with a concerned look on her face.

Akira opened his mouth slightly to say something, but nothing came out.

'Are you ok? Do you need some help?' the girl asked.

Looking at his hands, Akira noticed they were shaking, holding them together, he forced himself to stop.

'Ye-yeah, sorry. Was I in your way?' he answered in a low voice.

'Ah, no no, you weren't in the way, I was walking past, and you looked kinda scared' she explained, straightening herself. 'Are you sure you're ok?'

Giving a quick nod, Akira replied, 'Yeah, sorry I worried you, I'm ok'. His voice, calm again.

'As long as you're sure. Sorry I was so forward just then'. The girl said, looking away slightly, looking a little embarrassed.

A sudden buzz from the girl's phone caused her to jump, she quickly grabbed it.

'Oh no, It's that time already' She said, quickly putting her phone away again.

'I'm sorry, I have to go, goodbye' she explained, giving a quick bow, and rushing towards the train station.

Slapping the sides of his face, and getting a few confused looks from nearby people, Akira thought to himself.

'Come on Akira, focus'

Taking a deep breath, he made his way onto central street and towards Untouchable.

Entering the empty shop, he noticed Iwai look up at him for a moment before letting out a bored huff.

Akira walked up to him, forcing him away from whatever he was reading.

'Can I help you?' he asked in a bored tone.

'Hope so, was looking to sell some things' Akira answered, keeping his voice calm.

'Oh really' Iwai replied, raising an eyebrow, and putting his book down, 'that depends. What're looking to get rid of?'

Grabbing his bag from his shoulder, Akira took out some treasures he'd grabbed from the box in his room, laying them on the counter.

'Hmm' Iwai said, grabbing one of the items and looking over it.

'Some nice items here. I'm sure you don't mind me asking how a kid got his hands on them' he asked.

'Completely legally, if that's why you're worried, they were collecting dust at home, hoping to get a bit of cash from them' Akira answered.

Iwai took another look at him, trying to tell if he was lying.

'Hmm, fine by me then. Let's see' he said, looking over all the items.

'Can give you ten thousand for 'em '

'Deal' Akira answered.

A small smirk appeared on Iwai's face, 'good to know' he replied.

Moving the items to the side, Iwai quickly grabbed the payment.

'Here you go, pleasure doing business' Iwai said, handing the cash to Akira.

'Same here' Akira replied.

Having concluded business, Iwai was quick to sit back down, picking up his book once more.

Putting away the money, Akira left. He went about exploring the city, stopping at the shop to buy food to bring back, afterward he made his way back to Yongen-jaya, and to his home.

That night, lying in the bed, sleep was the last thing on Akira's mind.

* * *

The next day, as Akira was getting ready to leave once again, he thought to himself.

'Todays the day then, time for this world's trickster to show up'

Finishing up, he quickly left the house.

Locking the door behind him, he made his way to Leblanc.

arriving in front of the café on muscle memory, his mind went back to the last time he was here.

He was quickly snapped out of it by the sound of the door opening, an old couple walking out. 'Thank you again for the coffee, boss' The old man said as he left.

Taking a deep breath, Akira made his way into the building, the bell above the door ringing once more.

As soon as he entered, the heavy smell of coffee entered his nose. He missed this smell.

Looking at the back of the room, Sojiro Sakura was drying his hands in front of the sink, turning around to face Akira.

The look Akira saw from Sojiro hurt, to say the least. A man he'd known for so long. Who became a father figure to him, now looked at him with no sense of similarity. It was to be expected, this Sojiro had never met him before after all, but it never really hit him how he'd feel, to see everyone again, and have them look at him like he was a stranger.

'Well well, don't get many kid customers. You new around here?' Sojiro asked.

'Ah' Akira answered, snapping out of his thoughts at the voice, 'I-I guess so, I recently moved into a house a few streets away'

Sojiro gave a quick nod as a response.

'So what brings you this side of town?' Sojiro asked, placing the towel he was holding to the side.

'I heard this place is a good stop for a nice meal' Akira answered, causing Sojiro to give a quick laugh.

'Did you now, well, far from me to disagree, yet to meet someone who can make a better curry' Sojiro said.

Akira giving a small smile. 'Then I'll take one of those and a coffee'

'A coffee kid as well. Well I'll be' Sojiro replied with another small laugh.

'Take a seat, I'll get it to you soon'

Akira walked to the back of the room, sitting in the furthest booth.

'Ah yeah, What coffee will it be?' Sojiro asked, grabbing a cup, and turning on the equipment.

'Server's choice' Akira quickly answered.

'Sure thing' Sojiro replied, choosing a jar of beans from the shelves.

a few moments of silence passed as Sojiro started making the coffee.

'So kid, what do I call you' Sojiro asked, filling the silence.

'Akira Kurusu, though, either name's fine by me' Akira answered.

'sure thing, think I'll go with kid' he replied.

Akira gave him a quick 'really' face before giving a quick laugh himself.

'What do I call you?' Akira asked.

'The name's Sojiro Sakura, though most people just call me boss' Sojiro answered.

'sure thing, Sakura-san' Akira replied, give a small smirk.

'Stop that' Sojiro said.

After Sojiro finished off the coffee, he served some curry onto a plate, bringing them both over to Akira.

'Here you go kid' he said as he placed the items.

'Thank you' Akira replied as Sojiro walked back behind the counter.

Taking a sip of the coffee, Akira realized the coffee beans used straight away, a testament to the training he got from Sojiro.

'Ahh, Salvadoran Pacamara beans right?' Akira asked.

'You know your beans' Sojiro answered, his eyes widening a little in surprise.

'I had a great teacher' Akira replied.

'You don't say' Sojiro said, a smile appearing on his face for a moment. ''interesting kid' he thought to himself.

Silence took over the building once more.

Akira, having finished the curry was slowly drinking his coffee. Sakura was sat on one of the stools, writing on a word puzzle in a newspaper.

'Hmm, vertical is the name of a clam fish used for farming pearls' Sojiro said quietly.

Suddenly, the bell above the entrance rang as the door opened.

'Here they are' Akira thought to himself, looking up to see the trickster of this world walk in.

Seeing the person who walked in, Akira's eyes widened, while he almost choked on his coffee, luckily going unnoticed by the two others in the building.

'You're kidding. Akechi!' Akira yelled in his head.

Sojiro, turning his head to face the new person saw a boy with brown hair, wearing a brown jacket with a white shirt underneath as well black pants and shoes.

Behind him, he held the handle of a silver suitcase on wheels.

'This is Sojiro Sakura's Place, correct?' the boy asked.

'Oh yeah, they did say that was today' Sojiro said, placing the newspaper on the counter and standing up.

'You must be Akechi, right? Lia's boy'

Akechi gave a simple nod as a response.

'Then that must make you Sakura-san?' Akechi asked.

'That's me, though most people call me boss, you're free to do that as well' he replied.

'Well, follow me. We can talk upstairs'

Akechi gave another nod.

Sojiro, getting up from the stool, made his way to the stairs at the back of the building, Akechi following behind.

Hearing the two walk up the stairs, Akira focused to try and hear what they were saying.

'So, I got your situation from your mother when she called, you were trying to help a woman who was being harassed and you ended up causing the guy to get hurt and got a record for it' Sojiro started.

'That caused a lot of problems for your mother at home, so she sent you here while she deals with it all' He continued, letting out a sigh.

'I don't know if she told you but your mother is a friend of mine, I'm fine to give you somewhere to stay while you're here but I don't want you making any trouble, just stay in line for the year and your probation will be over'

'Yeah' Akechi replied.

'Good, now then. This'll be your room while you're here, There's some...Complications at home so you can't stay there but this should do' Sojiro explained.

Hearing the conversation coming to an end, Akira finished off his coffee as he heard Sojiro come back down the stairs.

'Ah' Sojiro said as he came downstairs, seeing Akira at the counter.

'Sorry about that kid, you waiting to pay?'

'No problem, I just finished' Akira answered.

Paying for his meal, he left the café, the door closing behind him.

'Akechi huh, definitely a surprise' he said under his breath, as he started to walk back to his house.

'time for the game to begin'

Meanwhile, in Leblanc's attic, a buzz from Akechi's phone caught his attention, taking it out of pocket he found a new app on his phone, a red square with a black eye standing out on his screen.

'What the hell' Akechi thought to himself.

* * *

**End of Chapter 2**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again everyone, and thank you for reading this chapter. What did you think. I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments.
> 
> If you enjoyed this chapter I hope you can leave a like/kudo and a comment to let me know your thoughts.
> 
> Thank you again for reading this chapter and I look forward to seeing you in the next one.


	3. The game Begins

The 10th came around and Akira was on his way to Shujin, Stuck once again in one of the many crowds filling the train to Aoyama-Itchome.

Through the crowds of chatter, he managed to hear people talking about the 'criminal transfer student'.

'Seems the rumours are starting already' he thought to himself, rolling his eyes.

'What a waste of time'

As the train stopped at the station, he did his best to be ahead of everyone tumbling out the doors.

Making his way to the surface, he saw the rain hammering down.

'Well this brings back memories, at least this time I brought an umbrella' he said under his breath.

taking the umbrella from his bag, he set it up and quickly made his down the streets, and back alleys Ruyji had shown him on his first day to Shujin.

Showing up in front of the school, he felt the presence of Kamoshida's castle. His vision warping for a moment as the school turned in the castle before quickly changing back.

'I could always go in, give them a hand when they're escaping' he thought to himself for a moment before shaking his head.

'No, I can't risk stopping Akechi's awakening, for now, I should wait, I'll go in tomorrow, and keep watch'

Heading up to the entrance, he was stopped by a teacher.

'Haven't seen you before, you one of the transfers?' The teacher asked in a deep voice.

'Yeah, Kurusu' he answered.

'Kurusu?' the teacher questioned, before giving a quick nod.

'Oh I see, he's waiting for Akechi' Akira said to himself.

'Ah yeah, I remember. Well you'll want to make your way to the faculty office, do you know where it is?' the teacher explained.

Akira simply nodded.

'Good, off you go then' the teacher finished.

Not wanting to waste any time, Akira headed for the stairs. 'Here we go' he said to himself. Rolling his eyes.

* * *

About 10 minutes ago, a few streets away, Akechi was running down the street using his bag to block the rain.

'Just great, first the trains are late and now I'm getting soaked because I forgot an umbrella' He said under his breath as he ran.

finding an entrance to a closed building, he ran to it. Using the roof above the entrance as cover.

'Being late to school is the last thing I need, I hope this calms down quickly' he said as he shook his bag to try and get some of the water out.

As he waited, he noticed a girl had the same idea, running next to him under the roof, wiping down her sleeves.

Curious, Akechi kept his gaze on the new person.

Pulling back her hood, revealing platinum blonde hair tied into bushy pigtails.

Adjusting her hair, she noticed Akechi looking at her.

'S-Sorry' Akechi stuttered, turning away, noticing he was staring.

The girl let out a small, quick giggle. 'Don't worry' she said.

'I guess you forgot your umbrella as well?' she asked.

'Yep' Akechi answered, turning his attention back to her.

'I'm Ann by the way' Ann continued.

'Akechi, nice to meet you' Akechi replied, both giving each other a smile and nod.

Noticing a car pull up in front of them, and the window open, they looked at the person inside.

'Hey there, you need a lift?' the square-jawed man inside asked, looking directly at Ann.

Noticing the expression on Ann's face, Akechi knew what she was thinking, he knew that expression well.

Just before Ann could speak, Akechi started.

'Sorry, I'm new to Shujin and this girl said she'd show me the way'

The man raised an eyebrow, an irritated expression making its way onto his face.

Looking at Ann who gave the man a nod, confirming what Akechi had said.

'Ok then, make sure you get there on time, it wouldn't do well to be late on your first day' the man said, closing his window and driving off once again.

'Did you know I didn't want to get in that car?' Ann asked, confusion in her tone.

'I had a feeling was all, I saw the expression on your face when he asked' Akechi answered, turning to Ann.

'Oh, was it that obvious' Ann replied, rubbing the back of her neck.

Akechi, knowing she wasn't asking for an answer, stayed quiet.

'That man was-' Ann started before a voice cut her off.

'God-Damn Kamoshida!' A loud voice shouted as a blond-haired boy in Shujin uniform ran next to the two.

The three of them all turned to each other.

'Ryuji, you don't need to be so loud' Ann said.

'Oh, hey Ann, I'm a bit surprised you weren't in the car' The boy, identified as Ryuji replied.

Turning to Akechi, Ryuji raised an eyebrow. 'Haven't seen you before, you a transfer? and how do you know Ann?' he asked.

'Uhh, Yeah I'm a transfer, second year. My name's Akechi, I just met Ann' Akechi answered, a bit of hesitation in his voice.

'I assume this Kamoshida was the guy in the car?' he asked.

'You don't know him?' Ryuji replied, a little confused like he hadn't just heard Akechi say he was a transfer.

'Oh right, you said you were a transfer' he added.

'Yeah, that was him, biggest pervert in the school, treats it like it's his own damn castle' Ryuji answered, letting out a loud sigh.

'Oh right, you said you were second-year right, that's the same year as us two, wanna walk with us?'

Ann shook her head slightly.

'You took that conversation in so many directions my head's spinning' she said.

Looking out into the street, she noticed the rain had died down.

'Although. The rain's died down now, we should get going before it starts up again' she said.

'Come on Akechi, Ryuji and I will show you the way, we know a shortcut' she added.

'Right' Akechi replied, with a nod.

As the three started to walk down the street again. Unknown to them. The MetaNav on Akechi's phone had activated itself, listening to their conversation and finding three keywords.

A quiet 'Navigation Activated' came from his phone and for a moment, the world around them glowed purple.

Stopping in place, the three of them felt a surge of pain rush through their heads.

'What was that?' Ryuji asked as he held onto his head.

'Must be because of the rain, ugh, I hate headaches' Ann added.

Quickly continuing down the street, they turned into back alleys and made their way to Shujin.

'HUH!' Ryuji loudly shouted as they arrived at shujin, or at least, where shujin was supposed to be. Instead, they found a huge castle, with a weird red glow surrounding it. And to make matters weirder, the Shujin Academy plaque was right outside the gate.

'What is this?' Ann asked no-one in particular.

'Did we make a wrong turn' Akechi asked the two.

'No way, I always come this way. I know it like the back of my hand' Ryuji answered.

'Was there some weird event we weren't told about' he added.

'I guess the only way we can find out is by going in' Akechi said.

After a hesitant nod from the other two, the group made their way into the castle.

* * *

Meanwhile, Akira had just entered the faculty office, a few people gossiping on his way.

'Is that who I think it is?'

'I don't think so, I saw a picture of the criminal student and this one looks different, he's got glasses and his hair is darker'

'I did hear we were getting more than one transfer today'

Hearing the door open, Miss Kawakami, the only teacher in the room turned to Akira.

'Ah, you must be...Akira right?' She asked.

'Right' Akira answered with a nod. 'I guess I'm in the same class as last time' he thought to himself.

'You're the first transfer to show up today. I've got your student ID here, you can wait in here and I'll bring you to class once they start' Kawakami explained.

'I'm Miss Kawakami by the way. Also, do you have your acceptance letter with you?'

Akira nodded again as he walked up to her, hand her the letter.

Looking over it, Kawakami handed him his student ID. 'That's everything in order, welcome to Shujin' she said, her tone as dead as it was the first time they met.

While waiting in the room, a feeling took over Akira, feeling a change in Kamoshida's palace. 'They're in' he thought to himself, though something felt different this time.

'Did someone else go in as well as Akechi and Ryuji, who could have got dragged in, they better be careful' his thoughts continued.

hearing a bell go off outside the office knocked him out of his thoughts.

'That's the bell, I'll take you to the classroom now' Kawakami explained, grabbing her stuff, and getting up from her desk before leaving the room, Akira following behind.

Entering the classroom, Akira looked around the room, seeing what students were in the room. Mishima sat in the middle of the room, once again, covered in bandages courtesy of Kamoshida's "special training".

He did his best to hide his widened eyes when looking at the window side of the room and saw Ann's seat empty. His mind coming to a conclusion straight away. The other presence in the palace, It was Ann wasn't it.

Standing at the front of the class, it felt weird to see the looks of curiosity from the other students rather than contempt.

'Morning everyone, today I'd like to introduce a new transfer student. This is Akira Kurusu and from today onwards he will be joining you all in this class' Kawakami explained to the class.

'Would you like to say anything to the class?' she asked.

Akira gave a bow to everyone.

'As Miss Kawakami said, my name is Akira Kurusu, I'm looking forward to joining you all in this class and I hope we can get along' he said.

'He's so sweet' he overheard a girl at the back say.

'Isn't he' another added.

'Quiet down everyone, the two seats by the back of the window are free, you're welcome to take either' Kawakami explained.

Akira giving another nod, headed to the window seat at the very back of the room.

'Now then, who's on rollcall for today' Kawakami asked after Akira reached his seat.

Mishima quickly stood up from his seat. 'All stand...' he said in a defeated tone.

After everyone sat down again and the first lesson began, Akira's mind started to wander, thinking back to the palace.

'How did Ann get caught in there, wasn't she supposed to take the car with Kamoshida' he thought to himself.

'Igor did say this world would be different, I should have at least considered it' he continued, beating himself up over it.

'I hope they do ok in there'

* * *

Back in the palace, Akechi, Ryuji, and Ann stood in a prison cell in front of a frightened Kamoshida.

Akechi stood in a flashy white and red suit with a long-nosed. red mask, a large blue glowing figure disappearing behind him.

'We need to go' he ordered.

'Y-yeah' Ryuji replied, looking around him he quickly picked up a set of keys.

'Come on' he shouted as he ran out of the cell.

Ann was still stood in front of Kamoshida who looked at them with wide eyes.

Bringing her hand down on the shadow of the man, she slapped him hard across the face.

'You have NO idea how long I've wanted to do that' she shouted.

'Ann, come on!' Akechi ordered.

'I know' she replied.

as they both ran out of the cell and joined Ryuji, the stunned Kamoshida recovered, he jumped up and chased after them.

Reaching the door just after the group had locked it.

'You damn knaves, how dare you do this to a king, especially you Takamaki' the shadow spat.

'Oh shut up you perv!' Ryuji shouted, throwing the keys in the water below.

'Good luck getting out of there you creep' he added.

They all started to run down the path, Kamoshida yelling for guards behind them.

'What the hell was that! What the hell did you do Akechi!' Ryuji shouted as they ran.

'No Idea! It just kinda came to me on instinct. That thing, it called itself Robin Hood' Akechi answered.

'Robin hood, as in the story?' Ann questioned.

'didn't look like no Robin Hood I've read about' Ryuji replied.

'As if you read' Ann quickly added.

'Hey!' Ryuji shouted.

'No arguing, We need to get out of here' Akechi interjected.

After running down the paths, doing their best to dodge the huge guards searching for them, they came to a drawbridge.

'For real! How do we get past now!' Ryuji shouted.

'Hey, is someone out there' the group heard a voice.

'huh' Akechi said.

'Over here' the voice said.

Following it, the group came to a cell. Inside they saw a small cat-like creature.

'Ahh!, A monster cat!' Ann shouted.

'I am NOT a cat' the creature shouted back, before shaking its large head.

'That's beside the point anyway, I need you to get me out of here, the keys are just over there' the creature said pointing to a set of keys on a box near to cell.

'Why should we do that? you look like a monster' Akechi asked.

'I'm not gonna hurt you, I'm locked up here too you know, get me out and I can help you guys get out of this place' the creature explained.

'What even are you?!' Ryuji shouted.

'I'm Morgana, Now enough questions, hurry up or the guards will catch up' Morgana replied.

'Fine but you better help' Akechi said, picking up the keys and unlocking the door.

'You serious!' Ryuji continued shouting.

'Freedom at last' Morgana said as he ran out of the cell.

'Now, the way out' Akechi quickly said.

'Yeah yeah, follow me' Morgana replied. running to the drawbridge.

Quickly running to the Kamoshida statue next to it. Morgana jumped up and pulled the mouth down, lowering the bridge.

'THAT lowered it!' Ryuji said in disbelief.

'It was a pretty obvious mechanism when you have experience like me' Morgana explained.

'Now are you gonna stare or get moving, come on' he added, running over the bridge, the group following close behind.

Just as they crossed the bridge, one of the guards appeared out of no-where in a black blob.

'Shit!' Ryuji shouted as he fell over.

'Damn, they got here' Morgana said.

'You, you look like you can fight, help me out' he added, pointing at Akechi.

'Come! Zorro!' he shouted causing a bright blue light to appear behind him, revealing a large being in a black outfit.

'No way, the cats got one of those things too!' Ann shouted in shock.

'Uhh, Robin Hood! Help out!' Akechi shouted as he took off his mask, the same being from before appearing behind him once more.

'Another fight, don't mind if I do' The persona said as a saber appeared in Akechi's hand.

The guard melted into a black puddle and two smaller beings came out of it.

'Damn, these ones are serious about killing us' Morgana said.

'I'll deal with the left one' Akechi said as he quickly dashed towards it.

In one smooth movement, Akechi cut through the shadow with his saber causing the shadow to disappear in black smoke.

Looking towards the other shadow to see it be cut apart by blades of wind. 'Ha ha' Morgana added as the shadow disappeared.

'Not bad, You've got a pretty powerful persona' Morgana said.

'Persona?' Akechi asked as Robin Hood and Zorro disappeared from behind their users.

'You don't know, well no time to explain it now, we need to move before more come' Morgana answered.

'You two, stay close, you're in danger without a persona' he added as they all started to run again.

Luckily not running into any more shadows, the group found themselves in the large room they were in when they first entered the palace.

Running straight through, they made their way into a small hallway with two doors.

'Which one do we go through?' Ann questioned.

'Don't worry so much. This way' Morgana answered quickly, going through the closest door and leading into a small room.

'All the exits are locked tight, you'll have to use this' Morgana explained as he pointed to a grate on the wall.

'The ventilation shaft?' Akechi asked as he looked.

'Exactly' Morgana answered.

'Fine by me, the quicker we get out the better' Ryuji said as he jumped up, knocking the grate off the wall, revealing a hole leading to outside the building.

'Couldn't have been a bit a quieter' Ann complained.

'I got it off didn't I' Ryuji retorted.

looking at Ann and Ryuji argue, Morgana shook his head.

'Well, off you go you three' he said.

'Huh' the three said, looking at him.

'You're not coming?' Akechi asked.

'Thanks for freeing me but no, there's still some things I need to do here' Morgana answered.

'I see, Well. Thanks for helping us Morgana' Akechi said.

'You've got manners' Morgana replied, smiling.

'Well, see you' he added as he ran back out the room.

The three turned to each other. 'well, let's get out of here' Akechi said, Ann and Ryuji giving a nod as a response.

The three quickly made their way through the gap in the wall and through the gates.

Meanwhile, in the castle, Morgana stopped for a moment in a hiding place.

'Those three have some potential, especially the one who's already awakened to his persona. The other two have the potential to awaken as well, I could feel it. I wonder if I'll see them again' Morgana said quietly.

Looking down from his spot, he saw Kamoshida's shadow in front of a large group of guards.

'Those three disrespected me in the worst way possible. I don't care what it takes, you WILL find them!' the shadow shouted.

'Oh boy. This won't be easy anymore' Morgana said to himself.

* * *

Feeling another surge of pain go through their heads, the group stopped, finding themselves on the same street they were on when they met.

'That pain again' Ann mentioned.

'And my clothes are back to normal' Akechi added, looking at his uniform.

'Does that mean we're back?' Ryuji asked.

A buzz from Akechi's phone surprised him, quickly taking it out of his pocket, a voice came from it.

'Welcome back to the real world' the voice said.

'Real world?' he questioned.

'I guess it does mean we got out. What a weird place' Ann said.

'Wait!' Akechi said, his eyes widening.

Showing his phone to the other two.

'Look at the time' he said.

'Shit!' Ryuji shouted, getting weird looks from nearby people.

'We've missed most of the day' Ann added, her own eyes widening.

'We gotta get back' Akechi said starting to run back the way they came.

Ryuji and Ann quickly followed behind.

'You want to go back!?' Ryuji shouted.

'You heard the phone, I think whatever was at shujin is gone now' Akechi answered.

'Maybe...' Ann added.

'either way, we need to get to school' she said.

Running down the same alleyways. The three finally reached the school.

'But...' Ryuji said in shock.

In front of them, was the school, clear as day as if the castle was never there to begin with.

'But we were just...Where did it go?' Ann said, not expecting an answer.

'Well well, here I thought you'd never show up' a sudden voice interrupted their thought.

looking up to the school's entrance, a teacher in a brown suit stood, looking down at them.

'I hope you realise just how late you are' the teacher said.

Ryuji opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by another voice.

'I was wondering what was happening, to think it was you three'

The group instantly recognised the voice.

Appearing from behind the other teacher, was Kamoshida.

'I always expect for Sakamoto to break some rule each day, but to think you'd join him today Takamaki' he said.

'Why you!' Ryuji said through gritted teeth.

'Ah, but there's no time for arguing, you're all far too late as it is' Kamoshida added.

Looking at Akechi, his eyebrow raised.

'You're the other transfer student right, Kawakami's been waiting for you all day, you should get going' he said.

Akechi simply nodded and started to walk up the steps to the school.

'Y-You're not gonna say anything?' Ryuji blurted out.

'As for you two, Sakamoto and Takamaki, You will come with me' the other teacher said.

'Yes sir' Ann said in a low tone, she quickly started following the teacher.

'This is unbelievable' Ryuji added, following Ann, and giving Kamoshida a dirty look as he walked past.

Stopping Akechi before he entered, Kamoshida spoke.

'You're not making a very good impression for your first day you know. Keep this up and you'll be kicked out before you know it, criminals don't get many second chances'

'I know...Sorry' Akechi replied, keeping his tone calm.

Kamoshida simply shook his head while he walked into the building.

Akechi quickly made his way to the faculty office.

'he said other transfer didn't he. I hope the other one doesn't get mistaken for me' he thought on his way.

* * *

On his way to the faculty office, he noticed a lot of dirty looks being known at him as people made their way to their classes.

'Do they already know somehow?' he said to himself.

Entering the office, Kawakami turned to him, once again being the only teacher in the room.

'Well then, I almost thought you weren't going to show up' she said.

'I'm really sorry. I got lost getting here and just ended up in one mess after another' Akechi said, looking away.

letting out a sigh, Kawakami shook her head.

'Just...Try to come on time from now on, you're already balancing on a thread' she explained.

Akechi nodded in response.

'Well, lessons are about to start again, follow me and I'll take you' she added, grabbing her things and making her way to the class, Akechi following behind.

'Oh yeah, I don't know how but the students here know about your record, so just try to keep your head down ok' Kawakami explained on the way.

'Of course they do...' Akechi thought to himself.

Entering the classroom, the change in the air was obvious, everyone going silent and watching his every move.

Except for one.

At the back of the room, Akechi noticed a boy with black hair and glasses looking out the window with his hand on his chin, had he not noticed him come in, or did he just not care.

He wished everyone would just not care.

He also noticed Ann sat at her desk, she was watching him but didn't make any obvious notion to say hello.

Standing at the front of the class, he waited for Kawakami to speak.

'Hello again everyone, I'd like to welcome another transfer student to this class. He wasn't feeling well today so we decided he'd only come in starting this lesson' Kawakami said.

'Would you like to introduce yourself'

'My name is Goro Akechi, Nice to meet you all' he said, bowing.

'He seems quiet, but I still wouldn't go near him' the voices of the room started.

'I heard he carries a knife with him to use if you look at him funny'

'That's enough chatter, Akechi, you can sit at the empty desk behind Takamaki' Kawakami said.

Akechi simply nodded before making his way to the desk, Ann giving him a small wave as he passed her.

Even as he sat down, he noticed the boy behind barely seemed to acknowledge his presence.

'What a strange guy' Akechi thought.

After sitting down, he heard people starting to talk again.

'Did you see Ann wave at him'

'Yeah, do you think they're dating'

'Wow, on his first day'

'What is with these lot' Akechi thought.

'I said enough with the chatter' Kawakami spoke loudly, shutting everyone up.

'Now, onto today's subject...'

After the lesson ended, the school day also came to its end. Akechi held back from the crowds of people, waiting for them to clear out before leaving as well.

As he left the school gate, he was stopped.

'Hey' A voice said casually.

Looking at who it was, he found Ryuji.

'Sakamoto?' Akechi said, confused.

'Ha, no need for that, call me Ryuji' he answered with a small laugh.

'Anyway, I was hoping I could talk to you' he added.

Akechi raised an eyebrow.

'There you two are' came another voice.

The two looked towards the person to find Ann.

'Ann?' Ryuji said, this time he was confused.

'I Wanted to follow you out Akechi, but I got stopped by Kamoshida who insisted on talking to me' Ann explained.

'Aren't you two supposed to be dating? you sure don't seem to like him' Ryuji asked.

'As if. I hate that guy, I only hang out with him because...' Ann answered, trailing off.

'I'm doing it to help a friend that's all'

An awkward silence surrounded the three of them.

'Getting out of that subject, it's cool that you're here to Ann, I wanted to talk to you two about that castle' Ryuji said.

'Oh...Funny, I was thinking the same' Ann added.

'Really?' Akechi asked, looking at both of them.

'Listen, I know this might sound weird, but I want to go back there' Ryuji said.

'You want to go back?' Akechi repeated.

'Yeah, I know how it sounds considering we all almost died in there but...' Ryuji continued.

'We heard some other voices when we were escaping right, if there are other people trapped in there I don't want to leave in a place like that you know'

'I get what you mean Ryuji, I feel the same, that's why I wanted to talk to you Akechi' Ann added.

'Me?' Akechi asked.

'You've got that persona thing, so you're the only one who can fight, I know it's putting a lot on your shoulders but would you go with us?' Ann explained.

Taken aback, Akechi thought about it.

Feeling the presence of Robin Hood in his soul, he knew his answer.

'Are you sure you're ok with a criminal going with you?' Akechi asked.

'What. Those stupid rumours everyone's spreading in school. As if we'd believe those after what you did today' Ryuji answer.

'Yeah, Let them say what they want, as far as I'm concerned, you're good in my book' Ann added, both of them giving Akechi a smile.

'I guess these two aren't so bad' Akechi thought to himself, a smile appearing on his face.

'Count me in then' he said.

'Yes!' Ryuji replied, giving a thumbs up.

'Now that that's figured out, any of you know how we can get back there. I mean, isn't it supposed to be where the school is' Ann asked.

'Wait, after we got away from the castle, didn't a voice come from Akechi's phone, saying something about getting back to the real world' Ryuji answered.

'Wait a minute, It couldn't be...' Akechi said as he quickly took out his phone, catching Ann and Ryuji's attention.

'You remember something?' Ryuji asked.

'Well what do you know, It was this' Akechi said as he showed what was on his phone.

'This weird app appeared on my phone last night and it wouldn't let me delete it, but look at what I found on it' he explained.

Looking at the screen, Ann read out what was shown.

'Saved locations, Kamoshida's Palace?' she questioned.

'Palace?' she repeated.

'It must have been some kind of navigation app, awesome, this'll make finding it so much easier' Ryuji said, excitement in his voice.

'Are you not gonna question how it got there, it's not like Akechi searched for the place' Ann said, a bit of disappointment in her tone.

'does it matter, as long as we can get back there right' Ryuji replied.

'I guess...' Ann said.

'Let's wait until after school tomorrow before we go in, we should probably just head home for today' Akechi explained.

'Right' Ann and Ryuji replied.

The group then quickly made their way to the train station.

Back at the school gate, Akira was hidden behind the walls, listening in on the group's conversation.

'Guess I'll see you all in the palace tomorrow then' he said under his breath.

Making sure the group was gone, Akira made his way home as well.

* * *

Getting back late thanks to late trains, Akechi walked into an empty Leblanc, he found Sojiro sat on one of the stools.

'Looks like you're finally back' Sojiro said, irritation in his voice.

'Yeah...' Akechi said in a low voice, averting his eyes.

'So would you like to explain why I got a call telling me you missed almost the full day of school' Sojiro asked.

'I...Ran into some trouble on the way' Akechi answered, causing Sojiro's eyes to narrow.

'It didn't cause a fight or anything illegal, but it stopped me from getting to school. It won't happen again'

Sojiro let out a long sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose.

'Make sure it doesn't' he said.

'I know this year won't be easy for you, but getting yourself into situations like this isn't going to do you any favours you know'

'I know, I'm sorry' Akechi replied.

Sojiro let out another sigh.

'Anyway, catch' he said, throwing something at Akechi.

Catching it, Akechi opened his hand to find a key, he looked at Sojiro with confusion.

'The key to the shop, I don't want to stay here late waiting for you to get back every night so you can let yourself in when you do get back' Sojiro explained.

'Thanks' Akechi replied.

'Right then, I'm heading home, make sure you don't stay up too late and whatever' Sojiro said, heading outside and locking the door.

That night, Akechi stared at the strange app on his phone, looking at the single item on the saved locations list.

'What a weird place that was' he said quietly.

pressing on the name "Kamoshida's palace" the voice from earlier spoke out.

'Notice, Location is currently too far away, please move closer to start navigation' it said.

'closer? isn't the point that you tell me how to get there?' Akechi questioned.

'Ugh, Questions for tomorrow'

putting the phone down, he laid down on the bed and went to sleep.

* * *

Snapping his eyes open, Akechi found himself staring at the same ceiling he saw a couple of days ago.

'Stand up inmate, our master wishes to talk to you' came the familiar voice.

Letting out a sigh, Akechi stood up, feeling the chain around his ankle, he walked to the bars of his cell.

'Trickster, it is good to see you again' Akechi heard Igor say, his deep voice almost echoing in the room.

'It seems you have been through quite a lot today, even awakening to your persona, and a powerful one at that' he continued.

'That word, persona, what is it?' Akechi asked.

The sound of a baton hitting metal filled his ears for a moment.

'Speak with more respect when addressing our master inmate' Caroline ordered.

Igor raising his hand caused Caroline to stop.

'That's quite alright, it only natural he would be confused' he said.

'A persona is the manifestation of your rebellion, by overcoming your hardships and tearing off your mask, you revealed your true self, and that self took the form of your persona'

'You can use the power of your persona to fight against the coming ruin' he explained.

'My rebellion huh' Akechi said quietly, gripping his hands into fists.

'And I'm sure the Metaverse Navigator will continue to help you in your journey' Igor continued.

'Huh?' Akechi questioned.

'The app that I put on your phone, the metaverse Navigator is used to travel between the real world and palaces, such as the one you entered today' Igor explained.

'With your persona and the Metaverse Navigator in your possession, your rehabilitation can finally begin'

Noticing the look of confusion on Akechi's face, Igor continued.

'You need not understand it all straight away, as your rehabilitation continues, we will continue to meet, and more will become clear to you'

Akechi simply nodded as a response.

'Ah yes, there is one last thing I wanted to say to you before we leave you' Igor said.

'Though I am not sure who, I sensed that you crossed paths with a person of incredible strength, I can only warn you to be careful as you continue from here'

'I will, thanks' Akechi replied with a nod.

Suddenly, the bells in the room began to ring.

'It is time we part ways for now, good luck in your rehabilitation trickster, until we next meet' Igor said.

Nodding again, Akechi quickly disappeared from the room.

* * *

**End of Chapter 3**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again everyone, and thank you for reading this chapter. What did you think. I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments.
> 
> If you enjoyed this chapter I hope you can leave a like/kudo and a comment to let me know your thoughts.
> 
> Thank you again for reading this chapter and I look forward to seeing you in the next one.


	4. A Helping Hand

Walking up to the school the next day, having remembered an umbrella this time, Akechi let out a sigh of relief to actually see the school this time rather than the castle, or as Igor called it, a Palace.

'Hey Goro, seems we actually get to be on time this time' A voice from behind him spoke.

Turning, he saw Ryuji.

'Seems so, I'd rather not end up late again' Akechi added.

'Yeah, getting my ear chewed off by the teachers isn't any fun' Ryuji replied.

Walking into the school and making their way to their classes, Akechi heard the rumours continuing, they'd make him laugh with how absurd they are if they weren't about him.

Blocking them out, he walked into his class and quickly found his seat.

As Kawakami walked into the room, the chatter from students quickly died down.

standing behind the desk at the front of the room, Kawakami cleared her throat.

'Ok, good to see everyone's here today. Now then, first an announcement. Tomorrow is the volleyball rally, so that means there will be no lessons tomorrow afternoon so make sure you bring your gym clothes and make your way to the gym at that time' she explained.

'Now then, that's the only announcement for today so onto your first lesson...'

The day passed normally, when the bell rang for lunch, most people were quick to leave, rushing to grab some food, leaving only a few groups left in the classroom.

Ann quickly turned in her seat to look at Akechi.

'Hey, can we talk outside?' she asked.

'huh, sure' Akechi answered quickly, nodding.

Akira followed their movements with just his eyes until they closed the door behind them.

Waiting a few moments, he stood up as well, heading to the cafeteria to grab some food.

He never used to go to the cafeteria in his own world so he was a bit surprised to see it not as busy as he expected, mostly a lot of groups all sat together at different points of the room.

Grabbing some food, he quickly found a seat at an isolated table.

It didn't take long to notice the eyes on him, they weren't judging him like he was used to, just looking.

Noticing a group walk up to him, he looked up, he noticed a few of them were students from his class.

'Hey there' one of the boys of the group said.

'Hey' Akira replied, a bit of hesitation in his voice.

'Listen, we were thinking since you're new and all, you might want to hang out with us? I bet sitting behind that criminal in class isn't easy' the same boy said.

'Thanks for the offer but no thanks' Akira quickly replied, averting his eyes.

The boy looked at him with a surprised face, not expecting to be shot down so readily.

'H-Hey come on, don't be like that, come sit with us for a bit' the boy continued, moving his hand to place it on Akira's Shoulder.

'Don't' Akira said.

The boy quickly brought his hand back at the seriousness of Akira's tone, looking a little shocked.

'Sorry, but...don't' Akira said again, his tone, quiet and low.

'Y-Yeah...Sorry about that' the boy said. Turning to his group. 'let's go guys' he said. A nod from the group and they went to sit at their table again.

'Maybe you brought up a bad memory for him' Akira heard a different person in the group say as they walked away.

'Come on Akira, you can't lose your composure like that' he thought to himself.

Finishing his food, and noticing the break was coming to an end, he made his way out into the courtyard, walking back to his classroom, he chose a route where he knew he'd walk past Akechi, Ann, and Ryuji.

Finding the cornered off area where the group stood. Akira made his way close to it, keeping himself out of view.

'So we're all good to enter that castle after school?' Ryuji asked, a little too loudly.

'Speak a little louder and the whole school can join us' Ann answered.

Akira smiled a little at that remark.

'They never could go through a conversation without going at each other's throat' he thought to himself.

'I'm not that loud you know' Ryuji retorted.

'Ok you guys, yeah, we can meet up outside the school gates when everyone else has left and go from there' Akechi said.

The other two nodded in response.

'Ok, we should head back to class before lunch ends' he added.

Akira quickly went ahead so they didn't see him.

* * *

As the school day came to an end, Akira made his way outside. Knowing the group wouldn't be leaving just yet.

He made his way into the alleyway outside the school gates and made sure no-one was close to him before taking out his phone and opening the MetaNav.

'See you inside' he said quietly to no-one.

Pressing on Kamoshida's palace. the familiar voice spoke before the world around him glowed purple.

'Beginning Navigation'

He watched as the school in front of him changed into Kamoshida's castle.

His clothes remained the same, however, quickly making his way through the gates to the building forced his clothes to change into his phantom thief attire, his weapons appearing at his sides at the same time.

'Now then, to get inside' he said, his usual smirk appearing on his face.

Rushing to the side of the entrance, he began climbing up the woodwork and scaffolding.

When he reached the top, finding the open window, he quickly made his way inside, making his way above the entrance hall of the palace, he noticed the giant portrait of Kamoshida at the back of the room.

He'll never miss this guy's disgusting decor.

Jumping onto one of the chandeliers, a shadow wearing golden armour quickly jumped out of a black puddle that appeared on the top of it.

'You are naive-' the shadow began, only to be killed by Akira quickly slashing at it with his dagger. The shadow quickly disappearing in black smoke.

'Hopefully no-one heard that' Akira said quietly as he put his weapon away again and looked down from his position, looking over the room.

Luckily, it was the only shadow there.

* * *

Meanwhile, outside the castle, Akechi, Ann, and Ryuji had just arrived in the Metaverse.

'What the, it changed just like that!' Ryuji shouted in shock.

'So it really is in the same place as the school' Ann added.

'You have entered Kamoshida's palace' the voice on Akechi's phone said.

'So that app allows us to see this' Ann said.

'Let's go' Akechi said.

After a nod from the other two, they made their way to the palace entrance.

after passing the gates, Akechi's clothes changed to his Metaverse outfit, causing them all to stop for a moment.

'So getting close to the castle changes my outfit' he said.

'It's so strange, I wonder why ours don't change?' Ryuji asked.

'I mean, Goro's only changed when he got that persona thing right, so probably because we don't have one too' Ann answered.

Continuing to the doors to the castle, Ryuji pushed on one of them to no avail.

'Locked! you're kidding' Ryuji shouted.

'Hey! Kamoshida! I know you're in there!'

'What are you doing' a sudden, harsh voice said.

turning to it, they found Morgana.

'Hey, it's mona mona' Ryuji said.

'It's MORGANA' he replied angrily.

'more importantly, I felt the shadows getting restless so I came to check. What are you all doing here?'

A sudden group of screams stopped the conversation.

'Those brought us here' Akechi said.

'You want to find the source of the screams?' Morgana asked.

'yes' Akechi answered.

'Hmmm, I guess I can show you the way' Morgana said.

'Really' Ann said, a little surprised.

'Of course, getting around this Palace is a piece of cake for me, so I can take you anywhere in it' Morgana explained, showing off.

'Except when he's captured' Ryuji whispered to Akechi.

'You called it a Palace, just what is this place?' Akechi asked.

'Huh, you came here and you don't even know that' Morgana replied, shocked.

'I guess I can explain, it's pretty simple really'

'You see, a palace is born when the desires of their rulers get super distorted, in this case, that guy you call Kamoshida is the ruler of this palace, and this castle is the way he sees the school, and he's the king of the castle because he feels like he is the king of the school. Make sense?' he explained.

'I guess so, so the school is a castle because that's what he thinks of it. But why can we see it like this? I mean, we've just been in the school and it wasn't like this then?' Akechi said.

'Because you're inside Kamoshida's heart' Morgana replied.

'Heart?!' Ann added in shock.

'Well, more like the world inside his heart, like walking around in his corrupted head' Morgana explained.

'So he's the king of the castle because in his head he's the king of the school' Ryuji said, anger appearing on his face.

'What a piece of shit! It's so accurate it makes me sick!' he shouted.

'Keep it down Ryuji, if the guards find us we're gonna be in trouble' Akechi said.

'Well, now that you know about this place, do you still want to go and find where those screams are coming from?' Morgana asked.

'Of course we do' Ann answered.

'Alright, then follow me, we can get in the way you guys got out last time' Morgana explained, quickly making his way to the hole in the wall behind him, the group following close behind him.

* * *

'This way' Morgana's familiar voice appearing from the room below.

Akira looked down from his position to see Morgana leading the group of three through the room.

'So that's your persona in this world' he said quietly as he saw Akechi's outfit.

'Isn't this the way we came from last time' Ryuji asked as they ran.

'Correct, we have to go this way to get to where those screams are coming from' Morgana explained.

Hearing them go through the door to the dungeon, Akira made his way down from the chandelier and gave chase.

Watching their movements playing out the same way they had in his world, Akira kept his distance, making sure he wasn't noticed.

Noticing them running into a safe room to hide from oncoming shadows, Akira found a hiding spot for himself, sitting down while he waited for them to come back out.

Sudden thoughts came to his mind, why not go up to them, join the group so he doesn't need to just watch them.

Quietly laughing at himself, he shook his head.

'Sure Akira, what are you gonna say; "hey guys, I'm from another world where we were a team and everyone but me died and now I'm here to join you again" don't be stupid. Even if you did, you'd be too strong for now, they'd never get any stronger' he thought to himself.

* * *

Meanwhile, In the safe room. Morgana had just finished explaining what a safe room was for the second time.

'By the way, I never did get your names?' Morgana asked.

'Oh yeah' Ann answered, eyes widening slightly as she spoke.

'I'm Ann'

'Call me Ryuji'

'Goro'

the three answered.

Morgana nodded. 'Nice to formally meet you then'

'Oh yeah, I'd been meaning to ask Morgana, Just what are you?' Ann asked.

'That's simple, I'm a human' Morgana said with a smirk.

A confused silence took over the group for a moment.

'What? No you aren't, you look way more like a cat' Ryuji said in a confused tone.

'That's just because...' Morgana replied.

'I lost my true form because I've been in here for so long...I think'

'But that's why I've been staying here, I know how to get my true form back, and I'm here to investigate those means' he explained.

Another silence took over the group as Akechi, Ann, and Ryuji slowly understood what Morgana was saying.

'Hmm' Morgana added quickly, breaking the silence and running up to the door.

'Seems the guards have passed'

Turning to the other three.

'Let's keep going' he said.

After a nod from the group, Morgana slowly opened the door, making his way out the room. The other three following close behind.

* * *

Seeing the door to the safe room open, Akira stood back up, getting ready to follow the group once more.

'Good, none nearby, this way you three' Morgana said, as he left the room, the other three following behind.

'Actually, before we continue, I wanna give you something Goro' Ryuji said quickly before they started moving.

'huh?' the other three all said as they turned to him.

'This' Ryuji continued as he showed the group an airsoft gun.

'A gun?' Akechi asked in a surprised tone.

'It's not real, but it looks as good as a real one right, maybe you could use it to trick the enemies here' Ryuji explained.

'And the reason you brought a gun is...?' Ann interjected.

Ryuji averted his eyes as a response. 'errr' he said awkwardly.

'I get the feeling the screams we heard aren't the only reason you wanted to come back here' Akechi said.

'Ok, so maybe I also wanted to hunt down Kamoshida again so I can punch him, but can you blame me!' Ryuji answered in one breath.

Akechi and Ann simply sighed and rolled their eyes.

'I'll take it, but let's not hunt down Kamoshida, the fact that you and Ann can't fight should be reason enough' Akechi said, taking the gun from Ryuji.

'As stupid a reason it was that he brought the gun, it actually might come in handy' Morgana said, joining the conversation.

'What'd you say!' Ryuji quickly replied.

'Quiet Ryuji, what do you mean Morgana?' Ann asked.

'Well, since everything in this palace is based on cognition, if that gun looks real to an enemy' Morgana explained, hoping the group would catch onto what he's saying.

'Then the gun will become real' Akechi added.

'Exactly! I knew you'd catch on' Morgana replied, a smile on his face.

'Seriously! So it'll shoot real bullets!?' Ryuji asked with a raised voice.

'Quiet down, also yes, it would. As long as you don't go telling the enemy it's fake' Morgana answered.

'That's awesome' Ryuji replied.

'Now then, come on, we need to keep moving if we don't want to get caught' Morgana explained.

After a nod from the group, they continued on their way deeper into the palace, Akira following at a distance.

Watching them make their way through the halls of the palace, everything played out the same way it had in Akira's world, with the addition of Ann to the group this time.

* * *

Finding Kamoshida's "Training Hall of Love", the name alone making the group want to gag. They quickly made their way inside.

'What the hell is this' Ryuji said straight away as he noticed the gym halls in the room with what looked like students in them.

Running up to the closest one, the group saw multiple students from Shujin being hit by the palace guards.

'That Bastard!' Ryuji shouted.

'How many times do I have to tell you to keep your voice down' Morgana said quickly.

'Still' Ryuji replied, gritting his teeth.

'How do I get these bars open'

'Stop' came a sudden voice, quiet and weak.

Noticing a student on the inside of the bars, the group looked at them.

'Don't do anything, if we just stay obedient and do as we're told, we won't get killed like you guys' the student said.

'What? You mean you're ok with staying here?' Ann asked in shock.

The student didn't reply and instead just walked off.

'Wait a minute, were you guys planning on getting these people out of the palace?' Morgana asked.

Turning to him, the group nodded.

'We can't leave them here to get tortured like this' Ann said.

Morgana just shook his head.

'Then you all wasted a trip, you couldn't get them out of here even if you wanted to' Morgana said.

'What, can't we just get them out the same way we did' Ryuji questioned.

'Of course not, like I said earlier, everything in this palace is created by the cognition of Kamoshida' Morgana explained.

'Including. The students you see here' he continued, emphasizing the "Including".

'What are you saying?' Ann asked.

'I'm saying these students aren't the same as the ones in the real world, they didn't come in here from reality like you three, they're created using Kamoshida's cognition' Morgana answered.

'Think of them as super similar dolls'

The group just looked at Morgana in shock as they came to understand what he was saying.

Watching as Morgana walked up to the bars himself, the group still didn't say anything.

'Still, the fact that all this is happening to this extent must mean that he treats these students in reality like this too' Morgana said.

That snapped the group back.

'The same...' Ryuji said quietly.

'You mean he hurts them like this there too' Ann added.

'You know, there are rumours going around the school saying Kamoshida uses physical punishment against his team, they're just rumours still because no-one says anything but if he really is treating them like this...' Ryuji explained.

Gritting his teeth again, he clenched his fists hard. Ann remained quiet, looked shocked at the students below them.

'Fine, if we can't get them out, I'll at least take pictures, we can find the students in reality and talk to them' he said, quickly taking out his phone.

'What? I can't open the camera?' he said in a surprised tone.

Ann and Akechi quickly took out their phones and tried the same to no avail.

'Me either' they both said in surprise.

'So we can use that weird nav app but the camera's a no go' Ryuji said, irritation in his voice.

'Fine then, I'll just remember their faces if I have to'

'You two do it too' he said, looking at Akechi and Ann.

After a nod from the two, they began looking over all the students below them, doing their best the commit the faces to memory.

'If you guys are doing this you should hurry, we shouldn't stay here for long' Morgana said to the group.

'We know, just give us a minute' Ryuji quickly replied.

Passing by the remaining areas in the room, the group commited all of the faces to memory.

'Ok, that should do it' Ryuji said as the group turned to Morgana.

'Good, we're tight on time now. Let's get moving' Morgana said.

The group quickly made their way out of the room, and rushed back to the entrance to the palace.

* * *

Running into the entrance hall, the group headed for the other side of the room to enter the room they came in from.

As they reached the middle of the room, a shadow with golden armour appeared in front of them.

'Dammit, we took too long' Morgana said, jumping back.

'To think you'd all show yourselves in MY castle again' came a familiar voice.

looking towards it. Kamoshida walked up to them, behind him, multiple shadows followed.

'Surround them' he said.

Suddenly, silver armoured shadows surrounded the group.

'Ryuji, Ann, Behind me!' Akechi shouted as he took off his mask and summoned Robin Hood.

All the shadows except the golden armoured one melted into black puddles, each one transforming into two different shadows.

'This is not good' Morgana said, summoning his own persona.

'Forget capturing them this time, I simply want them dead' Kamoshida ordered.

'Yes King Kamoshida' the shadows answered in their distorted voices.

As the battle began, Akira watched from the shadow of a nearby pillar.

The battle didn't last long, the inexperience Akechi had at battling on top of the overwhelming numbers they were against ruined their chances.

As Akechi and Morgana lay under the weight of the shadows standing on them, Kamoshida walked closer to Ann and Ryuji who lay on the ground.

Akira watched as Kamoshida mocked and insulted the group, but something felt off.

'Come on you two, you should have started awakening by now' he thought to himself.

'I'm disappointed. I thought with the arrogance you had while walking around my castle, you would put up more of a fight' Kamoshida said, spiting on Ryuji.

Turning to the golden armoured shadow, Kamoshida gave an order which caused the group to go wide eyed.

'Kill the transfer student first'

'Yes King Kamoshida' the shadow replied.

As the shadow grabbed its sword and raised it above Akechi, Akira looked in shock.

'What going on, come on you two. Any of you' he thought angrily.

All he saw was the group screaming for the shadow to stop.

They were going to die.

'So...I guess fate is trying to stop this game before it even begins'

Grabbing his gun, he pointed it to the golden armoured shadow.

'Not a chance'

He pulled the trigger.

* * *

The sound of gunfire surprised everyone in the room.

The golden armoured shadow froze in place for a moment before exploding into black smoke, the sword disappearing along with it.

Everyone looked in shock, even Kamoshida.

'So, you two on the ground' came a sudden voice.

everyone looking towards it to see a figure in the shadow of a pillar. They couldn't see who it was.

'Are you just gonna lie there and let Kamoshida walk over you like he always has'

Ryuji and Ann went wide eyed in surprise.

'Didn't you come here because you wanted to stop him, if that's true. You can't die here right'

Watching from his position, Akira saw as realisation set into Ryuji and Ann, and then determination, and then a sudden pain filled their heads.

Gripping their heads, they started to scream out in pain, hearing the voices of their persona speaking to them.

'They're awakening!' Morgana said in surprise.

A smirk appeared on Akira's face as he saw their screams stop and a mask appear on Ryuji and Ann's faces.

Slowly standing up, the pair ripping off their masks, causing them to quickly become engulfed in blue flames.

'What!' Kamoshida shouted.

As the flames disappeared Ryuji and Ann stood in their Metaverse outfits.

Carmen stood behind Ann in a large red dress holding a person with a large pink heart for a head.

Captain Kidd stood behind Ryuji, standing on a large ship with a large cannon for one arm.

'You guys have those things as well!' Kamoshida shouted in shock.

Cracking his knuckles, Ryuji smirked.

'Getting told off by some stranger behind a pillar wasn't what I planned for today, but I don't think I'll complain now that I get to beat you up' he said, looking at Kamoshida.

'This beat down has been a long time coming. How about we even the playing field' Ann added.

'Let's go Captain Kidd/Carmen' Ryuji and Ann said in unison.

Suddenly, a large group of shadows appeared, stopping anyone from getting close to Kamoshida.

Akechi and Morgana quickly joined the other two.

'Good to see you two can fight now, let's test those new powers of yours' Morgana said.

'Right!' the two new persona users shouted in response, another battle beginning.

Covering each-others weaknesses, the group easily cut through the shadows.

After the last shadow disappeared in black smoke the group faced Kamoshida, who didn't seem as shocked as he should have.

Falling onto one knee, Ryuji and Ann's personas disappeared.

'Seems the toll of awakening to your personas has gotten to you' Morgana said.

'We should leave as soon as we can'

'No, we have Kamoshida where we want him, we can't just leave' an out of breath Ryuji said.

'Got me where you want me you say' Kamoshida replied.

'Are you sure' he added as multiple shadows appearing around him once more.

'Oh come on' Akechi said in an irritated tone.

'Forget this, we gotta go' he added, tilting his head towards the others.

'Tch, Fine' Ryuji said.

Helping Ryuji and Ann stand up, the group ran to the room they got into the palace from.

'Get them!' Kamoshida shouted as they ran away.

On their way, they noticed the figure that spoke to them had disappeared.

Quickly making their way out of the palace, the group ran to the gates before stopping to catch their breath.

'That was close' Ann said in-between breaths.

Catching their breaths, the group looked at each other.

'Did you see that! Our personas were so awesome!' Ryuji said.

'More importantly, what the hell am I wearing!?' Ann asked loudly as she looked at herself.

'You got those outfits when you awakened to your personas, they're the image of rebellion in your hearts and they prevent you from being affected by distortions while in palaces' Morgana answered.

'Well I'm not complaining' Ryuji said as he looked over his outfit.

'I am!' Ann shouted.

'Well, now that we've got out of there, It's time for you three to help me' Morgana said.

'Huh?' the three responded.

'It's simple really, we just need to go to mementos and-' Morgana started before quickly being cut off.

'Hey hey hey, wait a minute. What are you on about, we didn't say anything about helping you' Ryuji interrupted.

Morgana went wide eyed. 'You mean you guys aren't going to return the generosity I showed you'

'Sorry, we're actually really busy' Ryuji said.

'Come on you two, we should get out of here' he added.

'You're just gonna leave!' Morgana said quickly.

'Sorry Morgana, We'll think about it' Akechi said as the three quickly made their way out of the gates and back into the real world.

'The nerve! get back here!' Morgana shouted as they walked away.

* * *

Returning to the real world, the group found themselves back outside the school. It had gotten pretty late.

'So...What now?' Ann asked.

'Isn't it obvious, we find those students from the castle and get them to tell us about Kamoshida' Ryuji answered.

'And how do we do that. Everyone will just find us suspicious if we're questioning students' Akechi added.

'Hmm...Tomorrow is the volleyball rally right, everyone's gonna be walking around in gym clothes then and a lot of people will be in the gym, we can use that time to find the students' Ryuji said.

'Fine by me' Akechi replied.

Ann and Ryuji nodded in response.

A sudden rumble from Ryuji's stomach surprised the group.

'Haha...I guess everything that just happened has made me really hungry' he said.

'Say. Let me treat you two a meal for today' he added.

'I'm not one to turn down a meal but can you even afford to treat us?' Ann asked.

'Don't worry about it, It'll be fine' Ryuji quickly answered.

'Besides, I really want to hear about your past Goro' he added.

Akechi shook his head slightly with a smile.

'Fine, fine. I'm up for a meal' he said.

'Awesome, follow me then, I know a great place' Ryuji said.

The group then quickly made their way to Shibuya.

* * *

Meanwhile. Akira was on his way back to his home while thinking about what had happened in the palace.

'I'm glad they awakened but that got way too close' he thought. Stopping in place for a moment.

'I refuse to let them die this time, no matter what. You hear me fate, you too Yaldabaoth...Never again'

taking a breath, he continued on his way home.

* * *

Back in Shibuya, Akechi had just finished explaining what had happened to him in his hometown.

'What the hell?! That's such crap' Ryuji said angrily.

'So you try to help someone out and you get a criminal record for it' Ann added in an irritated tone.

'Yeah...' Akechi replied quietly.

'Just goes to show how crappy adults really are I guess' Ryuji said.

'It's all in the past now, all I can do is deal with it right' Akechi added.

'I guess, but still. It's so unfair' Ann said.

'Well, it just means us three need to have each other's back right, a group of misfits against the world haha' Ryuji said, with a small laugh.

After a nod from the other two, the group fell silent for a moment while they ate.

'So tomorrow's when we go through with the plan right?' Ann asked.

'You bet, I can't wait to see the look on Kamoshida's face when we show the school what he really is' Ryuji answered.

Finishing off their food, the group left the building, and headed to their homes for the night.

* * *

The next day, Akira walked into the train station in Shibuya, joining a group of people waiting for the train, he noticed familiar red hair, standing out in the crowd.

'Wait, is that?' he thought to himself.

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard a girl next to him complain to her boyfriend about how the red-haired girl in front of them looked.

After the train arrived, the crowds of people made their way into the train cars.

Akira found himself standing close to where the red-haired girl was sitting, it really was the girl he saw that day in station square, she seemed to be lost in her thoughts, not paying attention to her surroundings.

He thought about saying hello, but decided against it.

The way to Aoyama Itchome was as lively as ever, students all around chatting about one thing or another.

The speakers on the train told everyone they were approaching their stop.

The red-haired girl looked up at the announcement, looking to an old lady stood next to her, she spoke.

'Ah, would you like my seat, my stop is coming up' she asked.

'Oh, that's very kind of you' the old lady answered, slightly surprised.

In the corner of his eye, Akira noticed a man had heard the girl, seeing him move, Akira knew this man was going to try and take the seat.

Letting out a sigh, Akira noticed the man move as soon as the girl started standing up.

Moving his arm quickly, Akira stopped the man, causing the man, the old lady, and the girl to look at him in surprise.

'What the hell kid!' the man shouted.

'I don't think she was offering the seat to you, you know' Akira said, his voice sounding bored.

The man was taken aback for a moment before letting out a 'Tch'.

'Whatever' he said as he stood back again.

'Thank you very much young man, you too young lady' the lady said with a short bow.

Swapping places with the girl, the old lady sat down.

The red-haired girl continued looking at Akira for a moment, she was about to open her mouth to speak but was stopped when the train stopped at the train station, as all the students rushed out of the train, she lost track of Akira.

Running out of the train, she looked for him.

seeing him walking away a little bit down the station, she ran up to him.

'Hey there' she said.

Hearing her voice, Akira stopped suddenly, turning to face her.

'Oh, it's you' Akira said as the girl got close to him.

'Is everything ok?' he asked.

The girl gave a quick nod.

'Yeah, I just wanted to thank you for helping me on the train' she answered.

Akira looked surprised for a moment.

'Oh that, don't worry about it, just saw a guy trying to take advantage of the situation and wanted to stop him is all'

The girl shook her head.

'Even so, I wanted to say thank you'

Looking at him, she quickly spoke again.

'Wait a minute, have we met before?' she asked.

'I think so, at station square in Shibuya' Akira answered.

'That was it, It's good to see you again' she said with a smile.

'You too' Akira added with a nod.

Looking at her clothes, he noticed it was a Shujin uniform.

'Oh, you go to Shujin as well?' he asked.

'Ah, yes. I'm a first year' she answered, pointing to her badge with a number 1 on it.

'second year myself' he replied, showing his own.

'Oh, I guess that makes you my Senpai' she said with a small laugh.

'hehe' Akira added quietly, as he rubbed the back of his neck, feeling a little embarrassed.

'S-So, do you wanna walk to school together' Akira suggested.

'Ah, sorry, I'm actually not going to school myself quite yet, there's somewhere I need to be today' she answered, her tone feeling a little down.

'No problem then, maybe next time' Akira replied.

'I'd love to' the girl said with a nod and smile.

Bowing to him, the girl began running away in the opposite direction.

Akira watched for a moment as she left before turning as well and making his way to the school.

* * *

The day continued on as normal.

as the lessons went on, Akira overheard Akechi and Ann talking about going after the student from the castle.

As the afternoon came around, the speakers around the school announced that the volleyball rally was beginning and told everyone to put on their gym clothes and go to the gym.

Arriving at the gym, Kamoshida was already there, speaking with some of the other teachers in the middle of the room.

Everyone found themselves somewhere to sit around the room before Kamoshida called out for some of the students to start playing volleyball against him and the others.

Akechi, Ryuji, and Ann sat together, talking to each other as the games happened in front of them. Luckily, everyone was too focused on the game to pay attention to them.

'After this game, we can leave and start looking for those students' Ryuji said.

'Yeah...' Ann said, messing with a part of her hair.

'Still sticks out huh' Ryuji mentioned.

'Yeah, it's a pain...' Ann replied.

'Something wrong Ann? You seem down' Akechi asked.

'Oh, yeah I'm fine, just nervous I guess' she answered.

'Don't be, we'll be fine' Ryuji said.

'I know, but still, I can't help it' Ann replied.

Sudden surprised gasps caught the groups attention, they looked towards the game to see Mishima fall to the ground, the volleyball that had hit him rolled over towards Ryuji.

Kamoshida just looked at the boy on the floor for a moment, a look of disappointment all over his face.

'Sorry about that, are you ok?' he said, ducking under the net and running to Mishima.

'Wow Kamoshida, that amount of concern is dazzling' Ryuji said sarcastically and quietly.

'You'll pay soon enough' he added, throwing the ball to one of the students.

As Mishima was taken away, the game quickly continued.

* * *

After the game finished, the group quickly left the room.

'So, I think we should split up. We can talk to more students that way' Akechi suggested.

'Sure' Ann and Ryuji replied with a nod.

'I'll head to my class and find the students near there' Ryuji said.

'I'll head to the third floor then and look around there' Ann added.

'Then I'll head to my class and try and talk to anyone around there' Akechi said.

'Let's meet up where the vending machines are in the courtyard when we're finished' he added.

The group nodded to each other and then headed to their destinations.

Watching them walk off, Akira hung around the courtyard while he waited for them to meet up.

While waiting around, he noticed a familiar black cat walking around, keeping its distance from students as it looked around.

'Hello Morgana' Akira thought to himself.

* * *

Watching as Akechi, Ann, and Ryuji separately made their way to the meetup spot.

Akira made his way closer so he could listen to them.

'Hey guys' Ryuji said as they met up.

'Any luck on your side?' Akechi asked.

'Nope, they're all too scared of Kamoshida, couldn't get them to say anything' Ryuji answered.

'What about you Ann?' Ryuji asked.

'Same on my end, I tried telling them we knew what Kamoshida was doing but without any evidence they still refused to do anything' she answered.

'I managed to find one thing out from a first year but I don't know how helpful it'll be' Akechi added, catching Ann and Ryuji's attention.

'What is it?' they asked.

'That guy who got hit by the volleyball earlier, his name is Mishima, apparently, Kamoshida does a lot of "Special Training" with him' Akechi explained.

'Come to think of it, I always do see that guy with more bandages than most, we should go find him, see if he'll say anything' Ryuji added.

'I guess it's worth a shot at least' Ann said.

Hearing the group move, Akira quickly walking away, making sure the group didn't see him as they made their way into the school.

* * *

Quickly making their way around the school, the group found Mishima as he was making his way to the out of the school entrance.

'Hey Mishima!' Ryuji shouted as they ran up to him.

Hearing his name shouted, Mishima jumped before quickly turning around.

'S-Sakamoto?' he stuttered.

'Takamaki and the transfer student too, wha-what do you want?' he added, worry in his tone.

'Don't be so nervous, we just wanna ask you something' Ryuji said quickly.

'So, I heard that Kamoshida's been giving you some "Special Training", what do you say? are you sure it isn't just physical abuse?' he asked.

'Wh-What. O-Of course not' Mishima answered, staggering back slightly.

'Don't say it so bluntly Ryuji' Ann added, giving him a glare.

'Better bluntly than not at all' he quickly replied.

'Listen, Mishima, we aren't out to get you, and we won't tell Kamoshida you talked either, we just need to know if what we think is right' Ryuji explained.

Hearing that shocked Mishima once again, he looked down for a moment to think before looking back at the group.

'I-' he started before another voice cut him off.

'What's going on here?' Kamoshida said, surprising the group as he walked up to them.

'Mishima, aren't you supposed to be going to practice' he continued, the group could feel the threatening feeling coming from him.

'I-I'm not feeling well today' Mishima answered quietly.

'Really? Well you should just quit then' Kamoshida said bluntly.

'Wha?' Mishima replied in surprise.

'You're never gonna improve that crappy form unless you turn up to practice' Kamoshida continued.

Ryuji, having had enough, walked close to Kamoshida, staring up at him.

'Didn't you hear him, he said he's not feeling well. You know, considering you hit him in the head with a volleyball' he said angrily.

Ignoring Ryuji, Kamoshida looked at Mishima.

'So what is your answer Mishima?' he answered.

'I'll go' Mishima answered quietly.

The group looked at him in surprise.

'Good' Kamoshida said.

Looking at the group he shook his head.

'You know I'm sure I told you two to stay out of trouble if you have any plans of staying in this school' he threatened.

'I was just on my way out' Akechi replied, keeping his tone calm while Ryuji just gritted his teeth.

'And you Takamaki, I never thought you'd hang around such bad influences, especially the transfer student' Kamoshida added, his tone sounding disappointed.

'I just happened to run into them here was all' she lied.

'Well you should keep your distance from them from now on' he added.

Ann stayed quiet and just nodded.

'Come on Mishima' Kamoshida continued, turning around.

'This school is for people with ambitions, people who break the rules have no place here'

'Understood' he said in an angry tone.

'Yes sir' Mishima replied.

Kamoshida then quickly walked off, Mishima following.

Stopping before getting too far from the group, Mishima spoke.

'It doesn't matter if you know' he said.

'What?' Ryuji asked in surprise.

'That Kamoshida is physically abusing us, it doesn't matter, the teachers, even our parents already know' he explained.

That caused the group to go wide eyed.

'They know?' Ryuji said in shock.

'Just...Stay out of it all ok, you of all people should know that we can't change anything Sakamoto' Mishima said before continuing to follow to Kamoshida.

'Tch' Ryuji said.

'They all know' Ann said quietly.

'That's such bullshit' Ryuji added.

'What do we do?' Ann asked.

'I-I don't know' Akechi answered.

'L-Let's go home for today, I need some time to think, there's no way there's nothing we can do' Ryuji said.

'...Sure' Akechi replied with a nod.

'You two go on without me. I...I'm gonna go talk to Shiho' Ann said.

'Sure...Make sure she's ok' Ryuji replied with concern in his voice.

'I will' Ann said with a nod, walking off back into the school to look for her friend.

'Come on Goro, we should go too' Ryuji said, turning to Akechi.

After a nod from him, the two left and made their way to the train station.

'By the way, do you remember that weird guy in the palace?' Ryuji asked as they walked.

'Oh yeah, the one who killed the shadow before you and Ann got your personas' Akechi answered.

'That's the one. I was wondering who the hell that was, they must of been super strong to kill that shadow so quickly' Ryuji said.

'Yeah...' Akechi replied, his mind wandering back to what Igor had said. "You crossed path with a person of incredible strength"

'Could that person be who Igor meant, but when would I have crossed paths with them before?' he thought to himself.

'They definitely saved us back there' Ryuji said, snapping Akechi out of his thoughts.

'Well if we see them again, you can thank them' Akechi added.

'Maybe, though I don't know if I plan on entering that castle again any time soon if I can help it you know' Ryuji replied.

Akechi simply nodded with a small laugh.

Continuing on their way, the two made their way back to their homes.

* * *

The next day started off as normal.

Sat in class, Akira noticed Akechi and Ann trying to secretly look at their phones as they exchanged messages with each other and Ryuji.

When the bell for lunch rang, Akechi and Ann exchanged a nod before making their way out of the room.

Akira remained in his seat for a minute before getting up and following after them, knowing where they were going, he made his way to the cornered off area in the courtyard.

As he arrived there, and got close enough to hear the group, he found them in mid-conversation.

* * *

'I tried talking to the students again during break, but all of them were saying the same damn things Mishima said' Ryuji said in an annoyed tone.

'Are we seriously not gonna be able to do anything' he added.

The other two didn't respond.

'By the way, how was Shiho Ann?' Akechi asked.

'Ah, I managed to talk to her. She promised me Kamoshida hasn't done anything to her' Ann answered.

'And you believe her?' Ryuji asked.

'I...Yes I do, she's my best friend, if she's promising it, then I believe her' Ann said, trying to convince herself more than anyone else.

Silence took over the group after that.

'There you all are' came a sudden voice, breaking the silence and shocking the three.

Looking for where the voice came from. A black cat jumped onto the small table next to them.

'A cat?' Ryuji questioned.

'If you couldn't tell, It's Morgana' the cat said.

'The cat's talking!?' Ryuji said loudly in surprise.

'MORGANA!' Morgana shouted.

'Wait, how'd you get here?' Akechi asked.

'I left the palace to come find you three, it was a real pain you know looking for you. You have a lot of nerve leaving like you did' he answered.

'Forget that, why are you a normal cat!?' Ryuji continued, still surprised.

'Quiet down will you' Morgana replied.

'And how should I know, this is just how I look outside of the palace, I can't help it'

'Why did you come looking for us?' Ann asked.

'Because you left like you did, as I said, you have a lot of nerve leaving without helping me in any way' Morgana answered.

'But I have a better idea now, rather than just shouting at you all' he added.

The looks of confusion from them told Morgana to continue.

'You guys want to know how to stop Kamoshida right, well, you can do it by using his palace' he explained.

'What?' Akechi asked.

'However...Before I tell you, I want you to promise me you'll help me in return, what I'm going to tell you is my biggest secret after all'

The group looked at each other for a moment at that, nodding to each other, they turned to Morgana.

'Fine, we promise' Akechi said.

'Good' Morgana replied.

'Now, since it looks like none of the students Kamoshida hurts are willing to talk up against him, your only chance of stopping him from continuing is to make him have a change of heart'

'A change of heart? In Kamoshida, I highly doubt that's possible' Ryuji interjected.

'In the real world, maybe. But it's possible to do it in his palace' Morgana continued.

'You see, since palaces are the manifestation of the distorted desires of their rulers, what do you think would happen if you destroyed the palace and took away those desires?' he added, stopping for a moment.

'Then Kamoshida would change?' Akechi suggested.

'Correct' Morgana answered.

'I knew you were a quick study' he added.

'By taking away those distorted desires, you'd force Kamoshida to have a change of heart which would cause him to be crushed under the weight of everything he'd done because of those desires, meaning he'd more than likely confess to everything he'd done and turn himself in' he explained.

'Seriously, We could make him do that?' Ann asked in surprise.

'How the hell would we even do all that?' Ryuji added.

'By stealing the treasure of his palace' Morgana answered.

'Treasure?' Akechi questioned.

'A palace's treasure is the core of the ruler's desires, by taking the treasure away, the ruler loses their desires' Morgana answered.

'But what if the Kamoshida in the real world knows what we're doing and gets to us?' Ann asked.

'Did the Kamoshida of this world realise what happened the last two times you went in?' Morgana replied.

'No' Akechi said.

'Then that's your answer, What happens in a palace affects the real version of its ruler but the real version of them will never know what happens inside it' Morgana explained.

'That's awesome, so we can make Kamoshida get what's coming to him without him knowing we did anything' Ryuji added in an excited voice.

'That's true, but there's also something you should know before you do this' Morgana continued.

grabbing everyone's attention once more, Morgana continued with his explanation.

'Taking away his desires will cause him to have a change of heart, but people need desires to survive, the desire to eat, the desire to sleep, if you take them away from him, he might struggle to simply live, he could even die if he isn't given the proper care'

Hearing that caused the group to go wide eyed.

'Die?!' Ann repeated in shock.

'You mean...We could kill him if we're not careful?' Ryuji added.

'Isn't that a risk you should be willing to take if you want to stop him' Morgana continued.

'Don't say that so casually, I hate the guy more than anything but I don't want to kill him' Ryuji replied, shock in his voice.

'You know no-one would know if you did' Morgana added.

'That's not the point!' Ryuji shouted.

Letting out a sigh, Morgana shook his head.

'I didn't think you'd be so stubborn about this'

The group just looked at him in surprise.

'I'll give you some time to decide, I'll assume our deal is off until you come to a decision' he added as he walked off the way he came.

'Dammit!' Ryuji shouted as he slammed his fist against the wall.

The other two stayed silent for a little while.

'I want to stop him, I really do' Ryuji continued, quieter this time.

'But killing him is going too far'

The silence continued.

It was broken when they heard the bell ring, signalling the end of lunch.

'I'm gonna try looking and asking around again, there's gotta be another way' Ryuji said.

'Let's meet up again at the school gates after school, we can talk again then' he added.

'Sure' Akechi and Ann replied.

Noticing the group was moving again, Akira quickly walked back into the building and headed back to the classroom ahead of them.

'Everything's finally starting I guess' Akira thought to himself as he walked.

* * *

When the school day ended, Akechi, Ann, and Ryuji met up outside the school gates. After saying hello and exchanging concerned looks, they started walking down the road towards the train station, talking as they walked.

As they were walking, Ann's phone rang, stopping the group.

Taking it out of her pocket, she looked at the name on her screen in surprise.

'Kamoshida?' she said in surprise.

The other two went wide eyed at what she said.

'You gave that creep your number?' Ryuji asked.

'I didn't want to' Ann answered quickly.

Hesitating, she slowly answered the call.

'Hello?' she said, Akechi and Ryuji watching her.

'Ah, I'm actually super busy today sorry, Maybe another-' Ann responded to Kamoshida before abruptly stopping.

Staying silent for a few moments, her face got a lot angrier.

'What! No, of course not'

'Wait, no, you wouldn't. And you call yourself a teacher'

'This has nothing to do with her!'

She quickly looked at her phone in shock to see Kamoshida had ended the call.

'Ann, what the hell did that guy say?' Ryuji asked in worry.

She simply stayed quiet.

'Ann!' Ryuji repeated loudly.

'Ryuji!' Akechi shouted back, tilting his head to signal for Ryuji to look around them.

'Come on Ann, let's go somewhere quieter' he added.

Ryuji looked around to see a few students who were hanging around, staring at them.

'This isn't a show, get lost!' he shouted, scaring them off.

The group walked into one of the alleyways and away from any prying eyes.

'You wanna tell us what he said?' Akechi asked.

'He...He wanted me to go...To his house today' Ann slowly said.

'WHAT!' Ryuji shouted.

'That actual...' he added as he gritted his teeth and clenched his fists hard.

'And he said if I don't, he'd take Shiho off the volleyball team' she continued.

'Shiho loves volleyball, I can't let him take it away from her'

'I can't let him hurt her...She's my best friend'

Another silence took over the group for a moment as Ann's eyes started to fill with tears.

'Don't let him trick you Ann' Ryuji said in a surprisingly calm voice.

'Huh?' she asked in a slightly croaked voice.

'We both know Kamoshida cares about volleyball more than anything else in this hell house of a school' he answered.

'And we both know that Shiho is one of the best volleyball players we've ever seen'

'If I know Kamoshida, and unfortunately, I do. He'd never take a player like Shiho off the team, he'd risk the team losing a game if he did' he continued.

Wiping the tears from her eyes, Ann looked at him in surprise.

'Hehe, that's...surprisingly smart of you Ryuji' she said.

Ryuji just smiled at her.

'But I guess you're right, he'd never jeopardise his precious team' she added.

'Come on, I've had a hell of a day, I need to go home' she said.

After a nod from the other two, the group continued on their way to the train station.

'And don't worry, we'll find a way to stop Kamoshida' she added.

'You bet we will' Ryuji replied with a smirk.

* * *

Meanwhile, in Shujin, Shiho was on her way out of the building, but she was stopped by Mishima.

'Suzui, Kamoshida told me to tell you he wanted to see you in his office' Mishima said quietly.

'Huh...' Shiho replied, shock all over her face.

'Did...Did he say why?' she asked.

'No...' Mishima replied, even quieter.

Shiho started to shake.

'...Ok' she answered.

* * *

**End of Chapter 4**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again everyone, and thank you for reading this chapter. A bit of a long one this time, I hope it didn't end up being too long.
> 
> What did you think of it? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments.
> 
> If you enjoyed this chapter I hope you can leave a like/kudo and a comment to let me know your thoughts.
> 
> Thank you again for reading this chapter and I look forward to seeing you in the next one.


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